China Merchants Bank Co.,Ltd., with assets exceeding 13 trillion yuan, is set to welcome a new leader. On the morning of April 30, the bank held a meeting where Wang Xiaoqing was appointed as the Party Committee Secretary, while the current Secretary Wang Liang retired upon reaching retirement age.
According to Article 40 of the bank's articles of association, the positions of Party Committee Secretary and President are to be held by the same individual. This means that, following internal procedures and regulatory approval, Wang Xiaoqing will become the fifth President of China Merchants Bank.
Public information shows that Wang Xiaoqing holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Fudan University. He previously held long-term positions at PICC Asset Management, serving as Assistant President, Vice President, and as a member and deputy secretary of the Party Committee, overseeing investment operations. Since joining China Merchants Bank in March 2020, he has served as Chairman of China Merchants Fund, Cigna & CMC Life Insurance, and Cigna & CMC Asset Management, as well as President of the Shenzhen Branch. He was appointed Vice President of China Merchants Bank in July 2023.
In August 2025, Wang Xiaoqing, then Vice President, was transferred to serve as Party Committee Secretary and General Manager of China Merchants Financial Group.
Colleagues who have worked with him described Wang as low-profile, humble, pragmatic, and a quick learner. Although his early career focused on asset management, he possesses strong insights into banking business logic.
In April 2022, then Party Committee Secretary and President Tian Huiyu was investigated, an event that caused significant turmoil and led to a sharp decline in the bank's market value. In May of the same year, the bank appointed Wang Liang, a 57-year-old internally cultivated executive, as its fourth President.
The leadership transition comes as China Merchants Bank reported first-quarter results that barely met expectations and failed to satisfy the market. On April 28, the bank announced first-quarter revenue of 86.94 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 37.85 billion yuan, up 1.5% year-on-year.
Compared to the full-year 2025 revenue of 337.5 billion yuan, which saw a minimal increase of 0.013%, and net profit of 150.2 billion yuan, up 1.21%, the first quarter appears to show continued recovery. Notably, the net profit attributable to shareholders surpassed that of Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank, ranking first among joint-stock banks. Additionally, the bank's retail financial assets under management (AUM), considered its "moat," exceeded 17 trillion yuan, reaching a record high increment.
However, the market response to these results has been lukewarm. While China Merchants Bank remains a fundamentally solid and stable bank, market expectations have always been for excellence, not merely adequacy, leading to disappointment among investors.
One investor remarked, "It seems the overtime culture you previously touted isn't all that impressive." This comment references a controversial statement made by Chairman Miao Jianmin during the 2025 results presentation, where he noted that employees rarely left work on time.
Citigroup issued a report describing China Merchants Bank's first-quarter performance as disappointing, suggesting its growth may lag behind the six major state-owned banks.
In terms of specific business segments, first-quarter net interest income reached 55.64 billion yuan, a nearly 5% year-on-year increase. However, net interest margin declined both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
The increase in income despite a shrinking net interest margin is primarily attributed to the bank expanding its loan scale to compensate for the margin compression. Yet, this strategy faces growing sustainability challenges in an environment of weak credit demand and persistently narrowing interest margins.
Non-interest net income was approximately 31.3 billion yuan, up 1.8% year-on-year. Notably, wealth management revenue surged by 25%, largely driven by last year's technology bull market and a rebound in capital markets, which boosted sales and trading volumes of high-yield products like funds and trusts.
However, this growth was offset by a more than 12% decline in bank card手续费 income, primarily due to a decrease in offline credit card transaction fees.
Regarding asset quality, as of the end of the first quarter, China Merchants Bank's total assets stood at 13.5 trillion yuan. Non-performing loans amounted to 69.86 billion yuan, with a non-performing loan ratio of approximately 0.9% and a provision coverage ratio of 387.8%, maintaining a relatively strong position within the industry.
Citigroup pointed out that the quality of the bank's retail assets continued to deteriorate in the first quarter, with retail loans decreasing 1% quarter-on-quarter and the retail non-performing loan ratio rising 6 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 1.14%. The credit card non-performing loan ratio increased by 16 basis points.
Citigroup suggested that although household assets accelerated their shift into the A-share market in the first quarter, the positive impact on China Merchants Bank's fee income appeared weaker than expected. This indicates potentially weaker monetization capabilities, possibly due to fee reductions and a shift towards lower-fee products.
Besides Citigroup, several other major international financial institutions expressed cautious or negative views on China Merchants Bank's first-quarter performance, citing concerns over weak growth, interest margin pressures, retail risks, and high valuations.
Bank of America Securities stated that the results were largely in line with expectations but maintained an "underperform" rating for both H-shares and A-shares. This rating reflects the view that, despite similar growth prospects to large state-owned banks, China Merchants Bank trades at a significantly higher valuation with a lower dividend yield.
J.P. Morgan noted that, without clear commitments from management regarding growth prospects or total returns, short-term stock price momentum is expected to remain weak, potentially underperforming peers.
In the secondary market, China Merchants Bank's stock price fell for two consecutive trading days. On the day of the earnings release, the share price dropped 2.78%. Following the announcement of the leadership change on the 30th, the stock fell another 0.60%, closing at 38.27 yuan per share, with a market capitalization of 965.163 billion yuan.
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